Foldable drying rack



Sept. 27, 1949. I E. M. HOLT 2,483,053

FOLDABLE DRYING RACK Filed Oct. 7, 1 47 Patented Sept. 27, 1949 STATES ENT DFEICE.

FOLDABLE DRYING RAGK* EdwardfM. Holt, Texa-rkana,-= Ark;

Application October 7, 1947, Serial Nof778426 2Cla'ims. i

This invention relates to foldable drying racks, and more particularly to a portable rack adapted to -be supported on an object such as a door or chair when in use and stored in some convenient, outof-the-way place when not in use.

It is-among the objects of the invention to provide a foldable, portable drying rack which may be folded into a compact package requiring a minim-umamount of storage space, and unfolded towprovide a rack oflarge c'apacity which maybe vconveniently supported on a chair, door or similarobject, and which, when supported on a door, does not-.interferewith closing of the door or use thereof; andwhich is'of simple, durable and economical construction,- and may lee-quickly and easily folded "'for"storage' or set "up for use.

Other objects and advantages will-become apparent from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figural-is a perspective 'view of a drying rack illustrative of the invention whenin unfoldedor operative position;

Figure Z'is a perspective view of'the drying rack when-folded for storage;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-section on a somewhat enlarged scale taken substantially on the line- 33 of Figure -1.

'With continued referenceto the drawings, the improved-rack general-1y comprises an elongated bar ID, a vpair of hangers 1 1 and a plurality of rods I2.

The bar I is preferably of generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 3, and may be formed of wood, synthetic resin plastic, metal or other suitable material. This bar is provided with a plurality of rod-receiving openings l3 which are preferably disposed at substantially equal intervals lengthwise of the bar. Each of these openings is specially shaped to conveniently receive and securely hold an end portion of a respective rod It, the shape of the openings being best illustrated in Figure 3. From an inspection of Figure 3, it will be noted that each rod-receiving opening I3 includes a tapered well 13a of circular cross-section opening to one side of the bar and having a depth less than the corresponding thickness of the bar so that the well does not extend entirely through the bar. The well opens to a face of the bar which is in substantially vertical position when the rack is in the operative condition illustrated in Figure 1. It will be noted that the inner end of the tapered well I3a is somewhat larger than the outer end which opens to the face Illa, of the ha l f the depth of the' well; 'The r ecess f3-b"=h as a width sumcient-to'recive an end screams rod t? and fa'cil itates tli'e insertion of the rod rid portion into rod receiv i-iig opening-fin In inserting a rod end-'porticn into an opemrrg fin the bary'the end-portion is first' positioned iii'tiie corresponding recess --l-3b"-iroih the-upper faee 1%?) of the bar. It '-is-moveddownwrdty use the well H311 and forced inwardly until i end contacts the bottom of the well. *Tl'ie tapered shape oft thew'ell rendersit'easy to *frce -tiie end portion of' tl ie bar into thewen and firmly clarrrps the rod-"in operative p'o's n' once it been assembled with the bar' -=irI -tl-ferrrainn'er illustrated in F-ig-ure 3 Each o f theharrgers l l nes e2 charmer-shaped cross section and may he: conveniently-formed or thin malleable metaL- such as: sheet alumimmi; Each-hanger ihas on'e end pivotally connected tsa respective "end of the .bar lil-by suitable such as the respectiverivets -14, and has thezoh ter portion of its flange cut away on axslant'br diagonal line, as indicated atwll-b,=zto facilitate folding and unfolding the hangers between the operative position illustrated in Figure 1, in which the hangers are substantially perpendicular to the bar l0, and the rods l2, and the folded position illustrated in Figure 2 in which they lie closely along the respective end portions of bar I 0 and receive the bar between the opposite flanges thereof.

Respective hooks l6 are provided at the ends of the hangers ll opposite the ends pivotally connected to the bar It). These hooks are flat and preferably of generally rectangular shape and may conveniently be formed by extending the corresponding end portions of the outer flanges I! of the hangers and making two spacedapart, right angle bends in these extended portions. These hooks extend from the sides of the hangers opposite the sides at which the rods l2 extend from the openings l3 so that when the hooks are operatively engaged with the top of a door, or with some other supporting object, the rods will extend away from the face of the door or from the object.

Hooks 16 have a depth suflicient to receive the thickness of a conventional door and suitable pads 3 are secured in the hooks to prevent the hooks from marring the surface of an object upon which the rack is mounted. Suitable pads is are also provided on the hangers at the pivoted ends thereof to provide cushioned abutments at the opposite ends of the bar so that the rack may bear against the surface of a door or other supporting object without marring the surface thereof.

In order to reduce the rack from the operative position illustrated in Figure 1 to the folded condition illustrated in Figure 2, the rods l2 are first removed from the bar Ill. The bar and hangers are then removed from the supporting object and the hangers folded down along the corresponding end portions of the bar. The rod and the folded bar and hanger assembly may then be placed together in an extremely small space. Preferably, the bar l0 has a length corresponding to the width of a conventional door and may conveniently carry as many as eight rods, as illustrated, the length of which may be substantially equal to the length of the bar 10, thereby providing a drying rack of large capacity when in assembled, operative condition.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

l. A foldable drying rack comprising an elongated bar of rectangular cross-section having a plurality of rod-receiving openings therein disposed at substantially equal intervals lengthwise of said bar and each including a tapered wellof circular cross-section opening to one face of said bar and having a depth less than the corresponding thickness of the bar, and a recess extending from one side of said well to a second face of said bar substantially perpendicular to said one face and inwardly from said one face a distance less than the depth of said well, the inner end of said well being larger than the outer end thereof opening through said one face, a plurality of cylindrical rods each having an end portion inserted in a respective recess in said bar, said rods extending in the same direction from said bar substantially perpendicular thereto, a pair of hangers of channel-shaped cross-section each pivotally connected at one end to a respective end of said bar and movable between a position in which they overlie respective end portions of said bar and a position in which they are substantially perpendicular to said bar and said rods, and a flat hook secured to the end of each hanger opposite the end thereof connected to said bar, said hooks projecting from the sides of said hangers opposite the sides at which said rods project.

2. A foldable drying rack comprising an elongated bar of rectangular cross-section having a plurality of rod receiving openings disposed at substantially equal intervals along one side thereof, a pair of hangers of channel shaped cross-section each receiving a respective end of said bar between the flanges thereof, respective pins extending through said bar near the opposite ends thereof and through said hanger flanges near corresponding ends of said hangers to pivotally connect said hangers to said bar, said hangers, when folded, lying closely along said bar and receiving said bar between the flanges thereof, a respective fiat hook on each hanger near the end of the latter opposite that pivotally connected to said bar, said hooks projecting to the side of said bar opposite said openings, and a plurality of spaced apart, substantially parallel rods inserted at corresponding ends into respective openings in said bar.

EDWARD M. HOLT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,189,677 Farlese July 4, 1916 1,421,467 Harden July 4, 1922 1,493,264 Hennessy May 6, 1924 1,596,346 Gibson Aug. 17, 1926 1,905,574 Sternberg Apr. 25, 1933 1,996,552 Schwender Apr. 2, 1935 

